One Year After the End of US Foreign Funding

One year ago, the Trump Administration halted all foreign aid and refugee resettlement and subsequently closed the US Agency for International Development. Halting the world’s biggest donor of development aid was a shock to the international development system and had far-reaching ramifications in many countries of the world. Former USAID staff and experts in international development will share the process of the agency’s closure, the impacts across the world, and what new initiatives have arisen to pick up the pieces. It continues a conversation started at our salon in February 2025 about the impact of drastic funding cuts within our community. 

The panel includes: 

 Michelle Barrett (Michigan) has led large, high-visibility initiatives in public service and global development across Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Most recently she served as Deputy Regional Director of USAID’s West Africa Regional Office in Accra, Ghana, until she helped close down its operations in August 2025. 

Jim Levinson (Marlboro, VT) began a lengthy USAID career in the 1960s in India, served as USAID’s Director of Nutrition and was invited to testify on behalf of USAID before the House of Representatives Hunger Committee. He’s also worked with multiple international agencies in Asia and Africa, and served as Chair of the Independent Review Panel of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. Jim was a faculty member at MIT and Tufts where he also headed their international food and nutrition centers, and at the Boston University School of Public Health. 

Siena Fleischer (Chesterfield, NH) has worked for over 20 years in global education and development, including leading cross-sectoral research initiatives at USAID that most recently engaged a 3,700-member consortium across 86 countries to inform policy and improve research uptake. She has done field work in Macedonia, Nepal, and Guatemala, focusing on ethnic and gender-based violence and the education of indigenous youth. 

Merrill Sovner (Brattleboro, VT) is Board Chair of the Windham World Affairs Council, as well as managing  a new initiative, the Alternative Resourcing for Change and Solidarity (ARCS) Roundtable, a space for NGO and philanthropy practitioners to explore how human rights and social justice organizations can transition from dependency on international grants to small donations, for-profit income, solidarity economics, and impact investing, giving them for flexible funding to pursue their missions. 

The event is free and open to the public with a suggested donation of $10. 

NOTE: At 5:30 p.m., before the panel, there will be a social hour with former USAID and State staff, grantees, and contractors. The time is envisioned as a space where those directly affected by these changes can network, problem-solve, and think outside of the box. Refreshments will be served. 

The Windham World Affairs Council was founded in 1961 to bring the world to Windham County. It is the smallest of the World Affairs Councils of America and has an all-volunteer board. It hosts lectures, films, and other events on global topics, as well as a monthly Members’ Salon, where members and their guests gather informally to discuss topics of the day. For further information about future events, or if you would like to consider joining the board, visit https://windhamworldaffairscouncil.org/.